A Conversation with Alicia J. Rose (continued)

PM: What part did the Decemberists play in getting you back into photography?

AR: I was running Nail at the time, and we distributed Hush Records, which is the label that Castaways and Cutouts first came out on. I remember getting a copy before it even came out, and I thought, "My God, this is a brilliant record." I was friends with Colin, and it was just the kind of music that brought 8,000 visual ideas to my head. I remember approaching Colin right before the record actually hit the streets, because of Nail. I called him and asked if he'd be into me doing some photos. I had this idea of the Decemberists being this wayward band of characters left behind, battered and bruised, after the war.

PM: Wow.

AR: He was game and suggested we go rent some vintage costumes. So we went to this rad costume shop in Portland and rented some war garb. I remember that we only rented 2 actual uniforms, cause we couldn't afford the fee. We just spread out the important stuff to make it look like they were all dressed... It was pretty janky actually. Cute though.

I scouted a great spot on Sauvies Island, and I found this beautiful open field near a winery. We all trucked out there the next week and I shot my very first photos I'd ever taken of the Decemberists.

They sorta wound up being some of the most iconographic shots I've ever taken. Images that helped start both of our journeys.

PM: Wow.

AR: And so I did about eight more shoots with them after that. If you look online, you can figure it all out. But I did a lot of work with them--editorial, personal, you name it. And every time it was a wonderful collaboration between Colin, the band, and me. We'd be like, "How can we mess with each other just a little bit more?" Like, "How can we up the ante?" "Oh, no, no. Why don't we...."

It sort of culminated, really, with Picaresque, where I shot the album cover and all the photos inside. I think Colin wanted to take it to the next level. How can we make the Decemberists actual characters from their songs? (Actually, I think the whole Picaresque album concept was brought to life to get Chris Funk in a tree costume. Genius, for real that man is!) And that's what we did.

I think they came out great. I'm really proud of that project. I did a few more shoots with them after that.

PM: But you're still tight with them?

AR: They're still friends of mine, yeah. I mean, they've moved into a different part of their careers, and I moved into a different part of mine. But I still have a ton of respect for them, and think that they're all wonderful people and artists, I wish the best for them.

But for me, I've got plenty going on on my own. I've been working on an awesome commission/project for the Oregon Ballet Theatre. I don't know if we talked about that at all.

PM: No, we didn't.

AR: Around the same time I was transitioning from Nail to Doug Fir, the ballet took an interest in me as a photographer.

PM: Wow! Portland is so amazing.

AR: Portland is bizarre. Seriously, it makes no sense at all. I had my first "official" art show in 2003. The series was titled "Histrionic."  I did environmental portraits of some of my favorite women, who I thought would, quite frankly, have been institutionalized if they were coming into their own 50 years ago versus now.

PM: Right.

AR: Which I think is what would have happened to me.

PM: Right.

[laughter]

PM: I think I would have been one of those women that would have heard "Have a child and be a wife, woman! Quit trying to be like a man." What would I have said... "I'm not trying to be a man, I'm trying to have fun!"

 PM: Sure, just trying to have a good time.

AR: But 50 years ago, I don't think I could have gotten away with anything I'm getting away with now! So I did this whole photo series of women who I think are just amazing. A good friend of mine that was one of my subjects in the series and started working for the OBT as an outreach coordinator recommended me for the project. I guess they had an idea for a new photographically-based promotional campaign, called "Who's Your Dancer?" They wanted to have me shoot a series of photos that focused on the personality of each dancer, while still being "ballet," but also high fashion, kind of edgy, and really cool. I think their goal was to get new people interested in the ballet. I thought it was a great idea. But I was a little baffled that they wanted me to do it, I take pictures of rock bands, right?

[laughter]

AR: I really honestly did not know what I was getting myself into. I mean, the concept they had created, but the guts were up to me. I had to fill in and create this sort of context and the breadth of vision.

So I interviewed each dancer and tried to figure out what was interesting about their lives besides dance. I worked with local fashion designers. I scouted locations. I even chose baubles at my fave jewelry stores to borrow--everything you can imagine. I oversaw makeup, I oversaw hair, all of it. I art directed the entire thing. It's been so much fun. I actually just finished a second season for them. There's talk about a third, wish me luck! [You can see more of the Oregon Ballet Theatre series here.]

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